A Great Big World opens with 'Glee' at Sanford's Temple Theatre

Friday

May 31, 2013 at 12:01 AM

The Temple Theatre is worlds away from the set of "Glee," but fans will be able to see piano-pop duo A Great Big World perform at the Sanford venue nonetheless Sunday, June 2.

A Great Big World, whose song "This Is the New Year" has been featured on "Glee," "The Rachael Ray Show" and the film "New Year's Eve," will be joined by Julia Nunes and Rebecca Haviland & Whiskey Heart.

"This Is the New Year" also serves as the title of the duo's debut album, the first to be released from their newly signed label, Epic Records.

The concert, part of the band's national tour, came out of the blue, said Chris deLambert, director of marketing at Temple Theatre.

"We really fell into this show. We didn't know who they were before this," said deLambert. "This is going to be a great, fun show and it's a good get for us."

DeLambert said a Sanford family helped Great Big World, made up of Ian Axel and Chad Vaccarino, with the recording of a song. When the New York City-based band realized they would be passing through the area and wanted to book a performance, they had their booking agency contact the family.

"The agency came to the family, and the family came to us," deLambert said. "They knew of the theater and thought we'd be a great place for a show. This has been great in raising the level of awareness (of the theater) with younger crowds."

Those same crowds may be familiar with the pop-acoustic sounds of Julia Nunes, or the alt-country music of Rebecca Haviland & Whiskey Heart.

DeLambert said the theater has received a lot of positive feedback and modest advance ticket sales.

Landing an act with national-level recognition has been a big deal, deLambert said, and should help bolster the theater's profile and the profile of some of its other entertainment offerings.

The 330-seat theater is known for its theatrical productions, such as "Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," featuring regional actors.

"We're starting to expand what we do here," said deLambert. "Our main demographic is loyal, and we want to take care of them with our main-stage programming. But we also want to appeal to a broader base."

Future programming will include more live music - though maybe not as high-profile as Great Big World, deLambert said. The theater is also exploring the waters of standup comedy and will host a number of national and regional comics.

The first comedian to perform as part of "One Night Stands at the Temple" will be Kevin Bozeman, a past winner of the HBO Comedy Competition, who will perform Tuesday, June 4 at 7 p.m. Comedians will perform the first Tuesday of each month. Tickets are $15.

"When people are asking each other what they're going to do in the Sandhills on the weekend," said deLambert, "we want to be driving that discussion."

A Great Big World

Opening acts: Julia Nunes and Rebecca Haviland & Whiskey Heart

When: Sunday, June 2, 4 p.m.

Where: Temple Theatre, 120 Carthage St., Sanford

Tickets: $8

Information: templeshows.com or 919-774-4155

Staff writer Brian Dukes can be reached at dukesb@fayobserver.com or 486-3523.

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